Time to split club and county scene

FOR sheer disregard for their own, it is hard to beat the actions of the Galway County Board who have decided to postpone the start of their club football championship until after next month’s Connacht opener against Mayo

This constitutes a change of practice – a round of club championship was played prior to the provincial campaign in the previous two years, when Galway also kick-started – and very successfully, too – their provincial campaign by defeating Mayo.

There is an obvious logistical difference this time – in the previous two summer’s, Galway’s Championship did not begin until June.

But that change had been well sign-posted and accommodated in creating an exclusive window for club action in April, which will not be utilised by Galway to begin their championship.

The optics look awful in a year when the GAA is pushing a new schedule it hopes will provide club players with a better deal.

The temptation is to give the Galway board a kicking, and if the clubs’ priority is to facilitate Kevin Walsh preparing his county team ahead of providing their players with serious game-time then that is clearly an abdication of their duty.

But on the flip side, if the club’s decided that playing a championship game too early in the year did not serve a real purpose other than an optical one, then perhaps Galway – like others around the country – are merely telling the GAA that there has to be a better way than this.

The growing sense is that if a properly integrated club/ county fixture programme is not possible, then a defined split schedule may be the only way to go.